Episode 146 Carpooling With Death: Finding Peace in Loss – Interview Margaret Meloni

Episode 146 Carpooling With Death: Finding Peace in Loss – Interview Margaret Meloni

In my teens I loved the book series The Incarnations of Immortality. Thantos/Grim Reaper was one of my favorite characters.  As an adult, I guess that fascination held over because I dress up as the Grim Reaper for Halloween every year. I have a real scythe hung from the pegboard in my garage. That being said, for all the interest in the incarnation itself, I have only had my grandparent’s die and when my son was diagnosed with leukemia my mind would occasionally turn to the “what if” and I would immediately retreat. At the Western States Folklore conference this past weekend there was a paper presented exploring the use of a character – the Grim Reaper or the like – (and there IS one in every culture) – to represent an event that we each must face. One suggestion that was made was that we have created a figure to escort us from this life into the next because we don’t know where we are going. There are so many unknowns. Perhaps those unknowns are what creates so much fear around death, but as the cheeky like to say, “No one is getting out of here alive.”

Margaret Meloni – the author of Carpooling with Death, is a Buddhist practitioner and a new voice on the subject of death awareness. Dealing with the death of her father, her mother and her husband within a two-year period gave her the opportunity to “make friends with death,” as she put it. Her book is to help others accept death as an essential part of life and to become death ready.

Tune into our audio discussion to hear what she has to say.

To buy her book:

As I conduct my interviews for this podcast, one of the themes that often repeats itself as we deal with some of the most sacred and dark places we have to travel, often death of a child, a spouse, a loved one is at the heart of that struggle. Today’s interview was to share Margaret’s story, but also to give tools as we all must eventually deal with the conclusion of our stories, as well as the conclusion of the stories of loved ones. I hope you’ve received some insights, tips, or inspiration for a positive mind-set shift as we face the final chapters of our stories.

While we life – my motto is to live intentionally and fearless every day! “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” Henry David Thoreau.  My new book LIFE – Live Intentional and Fearless Every day is available on www.loveyourstorypodcast.com. With 21 LIFE Connection Challenges to help you create more connection, possibility, and self-care in your own wonderful story. To help you live on purpose before your own final chapter comes along.